Old airfields around Teesside?

[MDHAC]

I was recently on UKGA and saw that there was a number of airfields listed as previously being around Teesside. One is now Durham Tees Valley, and Thornaby is now a housing estate, there were a few others however one in particular stood out. Sandy Flats, now this is an area I know fairly well. My gran lives round the corner (and has all her life apart from when she moved to Wales for the war) and the playing fields there are where my dad used to play football!

My Gran doesnt know of any airfield there in her lifetime, so im assuming if there ever was it was either just before or just after the great war.

I was wondering is this website correct or has it got confused with another airfield somewhere? Does anyone have anymore information?
I have searched google but its not come up with anything (but that may be the way im searching!)

Sandy Flats Airfield

Thanks

[ian16th]

This 'Redcar Lad' is asking around.

[T-21]

Not being local the best I have is an airfield at Redcar,based on the racecourse. It was used by the Royal Naval Air Service as a Flying training airfield with Avro 504B's and Maurice Farman Longhorns. No 273 and 212 Squadrons flew D.H.4,B.E.2C,Bristol Scout on anti U boat patrols. A flight of four Handley Page H.P.0/100's operated against U-boats. D.H.6 arcraft of 510 Flight operated againat the U-boat menace well into 1918.
These facts from the excellent "White Rose Base" by Brian Rapier. Perhaps the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington may have more information. There was an RAF WW1 airfield at Marske also.

Off thread but interesting Redcar sound mirror Sound mirrors

[ian16th]

MDHAC

My enquires show that there seemed to be some 5/- 'joy rides' in bi-planes from Sandy Flats. Whether there was ever a formal airfield of any sort on the site is open to question.

My souce of this information is the Middlesbrough FC Supporters mailing list. Some of the members made enquires of their parents.

I hope this this helps.

[T-21]

8/7/1922 a Captain G.M. Cox or Fox ?? from Norton,Malton applied to the Redcar council to operate joyrides from the sands opposite the Coastguard station,Redcar. Permission was granted for 2 months on a summer basis and was very popular. Sir Alan Cobhams National Aviation Day visited Redcar 28-29.6.33 and on 28.8.33 the British Hospitals Air Pageant held an air display at Redcar.
The RNAS airfield was located at R.Armshaw's, Low Farm,Redcar from 1915 to 1919 and demolished in 1923.

[ian16th]

T-21,

R.Armshaws Farm, was Ramshaw's Farm! I'm old enough to remember when it was still in the Ramshaw family.
The land was used for Council Housing after WWII.
The tarmac road the replaced the unpaved farm track, known as Ramshaws Lane, is now called Mersey Rd..
If my somewhat fallible memory is correct, 'Low Farm' was the proper name for what was colloquially known as Ramshaw's Farm.
Since writing this, I have checked with a friend, still resident in Redcar and an amateur historian of the area, and indeed Low Farm and Ramshaws Farm were one and the same place.
A further tenuous link, I met Sir Alan Cobham at RAF Marham, when he presented the trophy to 214 Sqdn, when we re-fuelled the Vulcan that flew non-stop from UK to Australia.

(Edited with corrections)

[MDHAC]

Thanks

Just wanted to drop a quick post to say thanks for the information. It should provide me with a good starting point.
I actually now live very close to Elvington so ill have to pay them another visit and see if I can find anything else.
Never thought of trying the MFC supporters club, I wonder if the club themselves have any information. ill have to give them a try, I think they owe me at least that after all these years of being a season ticket holder.

If/When I find out anything else I will update this thread.

Again, many thanks.

[Chelmersteve]

Sandy Flats Airfield

Sandy Flats Airfield was on Sandy Flats Farm - adjacent to Acklam Road, Middlesbrough, towards the Blue Bell pub. It was farmed by Sammy Huddleston who also ran some sort of air services from the airfield.

[Tim Zukas]

In the 1931 Air Pilot, Catterick was the only airfield in Great Britain between lat 54 and 55.

[mjrbrowns]

Sandy Flatts airfield

There were two buildings in the corner of Sandy Flatts that had air force use.Where they were is now part of the Crematorium. In the late 60s early 70s we used to be able to climb in one of them , seem to remember they were windowless and there were aviation maps on the walls suggesting it was something to do with supervising monitoring aircraft during the war. It soon became trashed but appeared War time use . Not many remember the buildings which were brick build , one person thought there was only one building, certainly I recall there was part you could get in and part not. So not sure whether was one or two buildings.

There was a middle large room which had the plans recording movements of aircraft and couple corridors leading off to smaller rooms probably offices.

No windows but possibly they had become bricked up? The centre room looked like a command centre .